Why we need to be observant

by Brad Price

An ex-Secret Servant agent who helped protect two past Presidents recently worshipped with me. This brother in Christ initially told me about his past involvement with law enforcement and our conversation eventually revealed his past work with the U.S. Secret Service.

As an ex-agent, his powers of observation were startling. In about an hour he concluded more about the congregation where I worship than some visitors would know after being with us six months.

This man quickly picked up on the names of various people, correctly inferred some things about the congregation and was later able to repeat several specific things he heard people say. He also noted how some seemed to have their minds on other things when it was time to worship.

If this man is typical of modern Secret Service agents, those who help protect the President can tell a lot about a person, a group of people, or how a certain situation might develop by their simple and persistent observation. This strategy is also useful for living the Christian life.

Some skim the Bible. Others read through the word of God very quickly. If we are truly interested in spiritual things, we need to study the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15). Jesus described this as paying attention to “every word” from God (Matthew 4:4).

In Luke 16:17, the Lord spoke of heaven’s paying attention to “one tittle,” the smallest possible part of the law.

Careful observation is helpful in the secular realm and absolutely necessary in the spiritual realm. If we will commit ourselves to truly studying the Bible, we will learn a lot more than we realize about God, the Christian faith and how to live as a Christian.

If Secret Service agents are trained to meticulously observe things to protect the President of the United States, should we not strive to train ourselves to study the Scriptures so we can protect and safeguard our eternal spirit?

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Brad is a preacher and writer and his work can be found at www.abiblecommentary.com

Randal and his wife have lived and worked in Brazil since 1984. They have three children, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren. Randal's a lefty, a chocolate lover, an author and a poet. His microblog is randal.us.